1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording medium cassette and a recording apparatus.
2. Related Art
Existing recording apparatuses, such as printers and copiers, include those provided with a recording medium cassette that can be removably attached to the main body of the apparatus. Recording media such as paper sheets are stacked in the recording medium cassette, and a feed roller is brought into contact, while rotating, with the uppermost one of the paper sheets to thereby feed that paper sheet into inside of the main body.
Some recording medium cassettes include an upper tray and a lower tray, the former being superposed on the latter, so that paper sheets of different sizes or types can be placed in the respective trays. Some recording medium cassettes further include an output tray located above the upper tray for receiving the paper sheet that has been printed and discharged.
For example, JP-A-2012-76871 discloses a sheet cassette that includes, as shown in FIG. 9A, a lower tray 81 and an upper tray 82 superposed thereon, and an output tray 83 located above the upper tray 82 for receiving the paper sheet that has been recorded and discharged. As shown in FIG. 9A, when the upper tray 82 is located on an upstream side in the direction in which the paper sheet is delivered (hereinafter, feed direction) X, i.e., on the left in FIG. 9A, a portion of the lower tray 81 on a downstream side in the feed direction X is exposed, and a paper sheet P11 placed on the lower tray 81 is contacted by a rotating feed roller (not shown) so as to be delivered in the feed direction X.
The sheet cassette 80 includes a lock mechanism that restricts the upper tray 82 from moving in the feed direction X, and the upper tray 82 includes a finger support 824 and an unlock lever 825 for unlocking the lock mechanism. The user unlocks the lock mechanism by holding with his/her fingers the finger support 824 and the unlock lever 825 exposed through a slot 830 formed in the output tray 83, and slides the upper tray 82 in the feed direction X with respect to the lower tray 81 to thereby displace the upper tray 82 to the downstream side in the feed direction X (on the right in FIGS. 9A and 9B), as shown in FIG. 9B. Then the rotating feed roller is brought into contact with the paper sheet P10 placed on the upper tray 82 to deliver the paper sheet P10 in the feed direction X.
The output tray 83 includes a pivotal shaft S10 rotatably disposed through a bearing hole 810 formed in a sidewall of the lower tray 81. The upper tray 82 includes a slide portion 820 configured to slide in the feed direction X supported by a guide portion (not shown), and a sheet placement unit 821 including a pivotal shaft S11 and pivotably connected to the slide portion 820. When the upper tray 82 is on the upstream side in the feed direction X as shown in FIG. 9A, the pivotal shaft S10 of the output tray 83 and the pivotal shaft S11 of the sheet placement unit 821 generally overlap each other.
When the intends to place the paper sheet P11 on the lower tray 81, the user pivots the output tray 83 and the sheet placement unit 821 together in a pivoting direction D10 with the upper tray 82 set on the upstream side in the feed direction X as shown in FIG. 9A, so as to expose the sheet placement surface 813 of the lower tray 81, as shown in FIG. 10A. Then the user inserts the paper sheet P11 in the feed direction X along the sheet placement surface 813, and sets the paper sheet P11 in position on the sheet placement surface 813 as shown in FIG. 10B, utilizing a pair of edge guides 811 and an edge guide 812 as reference.
In contrast, when the user intends to place the paper sheet P10 on the upper tray 82, the upper tray 82 is displaced to the downstream side in the feed direction X, as shown in FIG. 9B. The user slides the paper sheet P10 in the direction opposite to the feed direction X along the sheet placement surface 821a on the slide portion 821, and sets the paper sheet P10 in place on the sheet placement surface 821a, utilizing as reference a pair of edge guides 822 and an edge guide 823 exposed through a slot 831 formed in the output tray 83.
However, when the paper sheet P11 is to be placed on the lower tray 81 in the state shown in FIG. 10A, the upper tray 82 and the output tray 83 are located above the sheet placement surface 813 of the lower tray 81, at a generally central position in the feed direction X. In other words, in a view from above the sheet placement surface 813, the sheet placement surface 813 is split by the upper tray 82 and the output tray 83 into an upstream sheet placement surface 813a and a downstream sheet placement surface 813b in the feed direction X. Accordingly, the user has to insert the downstream edge of the paper sheet P11 in the feed direction X through a gap A1 between the slide portion 820 and the sheet placement surface 813 from the side of the upstream sheet placement surface 813a toward the downstream sheet placement surface 813b, so as to forward the paper sheet P11 in the feed direction X along the sheet placement surface 813. In addition, when the paper sheet P10 is to be placed on the upper tray 82 in the state shown in FIG. 9B, the output tray 83 overlaps the upstream portion of the sheet placement surface 821a in the feed direction X. Accordingly, the user has to insert the upstream edge of the paper sheet P10 in the feed direction X into a gap A2 between the output tray 83 and the sheet placement surface 821a, from the downstream side toward the upstream side in the feed direction X, to place the paper sheet P10 in position on the sheet placement surface 821a. 
Thus, the configuration according to JP-A-2012-76871 impedes the user from efficiently placing the paper sheet P10 or P11 on the upper tray 82 or lower tray 81 of the sheet cassette 80. In other words, the user suffers difficulty in placing a paper sheet on an upper tray or lower tray of a sheet cassette having an output tray on top thereof.